Bloody Rose
by QueenofRemnants
Summary: Modern Day AU. Neo walked across the empty park, wincing with each step. Her clothes were tattered, and her skin bruised even more noticeably due to the paleness of her skin. She dropped down to her knees, and buried her face into them, sobbing into the darkness. She didn't notice however, the dark red cape approaching her. [Ruby x Neo] Warning: Character Abuse.
1. Chapter 1

Neo paced nervously, making sure each item was in its proper place. Her father would be home soon, and she knew that if the house wasn't spotless, there would be hell to pay. She stood in the entrance way, waiting for him to arrive. Her heart pounded furiously, and he palms began to sweat.

"Calm down," she told herself, "everything is okay."

Just then, the door handle began shaking. She sat upright and greeted her father as he walked into the house. He was wearing his normal fedora, a cigar sticking out of his mouth. He scanned the room quickly, searching for any flaws. He grumbled and threw his white jacket to the ground, watching as Neo rushed to pick it up and hang it properly.

Neo knew better than to ask how work had gone. Her father was always stressed, and usually came home exhausted. He chewed at the end of his cigar and frowned.

"Where's my dinner?" He asked, sniffing the air.

Neo's heart fell. "I didn't have the chance to prepare it, I was cleaning the house and-"

Neo's sentence was cut short by a stinging slap on her left cheek. She bit her lip to avoid crying out in pain.

"I ask for one simple damn thing!" Her father yelled.

"Father, I tried." Neo argued, backing away from him.

"Then where's my dinner?!" He demanded, grabbing her by the front of her jacket. She whimpered and brought her hands up to shield her face as her father began relentlessly hitting her. He threw her to the ground and sneered, "I'll get it myself then."

As her father stormed off, Neo ran upstairs to the safety of her room, slamming and locking her door behind her. She began gasping, her breaths shaky, before she broke down into tears, sobbing violently. She stared down at her palms, noticing the blood on them. She looked up in her cracked bedroom mirror to observe the damage. Her eye was turning a dark purple, swollen shut, her nose and lip bloody. She grabbed a nearby tissue and tried to slow the bleeding. Her father was like this every night.

She gritted her teeth in anger. It wasn't fair. Ever since her mother had died, her father had taken it out on her, beating her whenever he fit necessary. She didn't deserve this, no one did. She wiped the last of the blood away and observed herself in the mirror again. Then, without a second thought, she opened up the drawers and began throwing clothes onto her old mattress. She was leaving, tonight.


	2. Chapter 2

Neo threw only necessary items into her bag. She zipped is closed and held her breath for a second, convincing herself that this was the right thing to do. She needed to move quickly before she changed her mind. Slowly opening her bedroom door, she peeked out to see if her father was nearby. She heard the soft hum of him snoring. Throwing the bag over her shoulder, she slowly began to creep past his bedroom and towards the front door. The door creaked open, as she slipped through the opening, not bothering to look back.

Instantaneously, the cold night air hit the multicolored girls face, causing her to shiver. She wrapped the remaining pieces of her clothes around herself and began walking in no particular direction. The farther she walked from the house, the heavier her chest felt. She began panicking. She had no money, no food, no house, and only ruined clothes. How was she supposed to survive in the streets of Vale? Her pace began to slowly, and looked around wondering where she was. She wasn't even sure how far she had gone. She figured she must have stumbled upon a park of some sort, an open grassy field with benches surrounding its perimeter.

Neo walked across the empty park, wincing with each step. Her clothes were tattered, and her skin bruised even more noticeably due to the paleness of her skin. She dropped down to her knees, and buried her face into them, sobbing into the darkness. She had no where to go, no family remaining. She was alone in this world and probably broken beyond repair. However, Neo didn't notice the dark red cape approaching her.

"Um, hey, are you alright?" She heard a soft voice ask.

Neo froze, instantly shocked. She didn't imagine anyone else being out at this hour. She slowly lifted her head, and white eyes met silver. The girl standing before her looked around her age, with short black hair highlighted with red. The girl wore a normal outfit, with a strange cape around her neck.

Neo said nothing, only shaking her head in reply.

"Do you need help?"

Neo sat up, hiding her face behind her long hair. She pondered for a moment. Why would this girl want to help her?

"My names Ruby." The girl stated awkwardly, swaying side to side, "Yours?"

"Neo." She replied, saying nothing else.

"Why are your clothes ripped?" The girl asked, "And what happened to your eye?"

Neo suddenly became very angry with the girls constant questioning. She glared at Ruby. "None of your business." She snapped, realizing her tone was unnecessarily harsh.

The girl looked shocked for a moment, but recovered quickly. "Well, I guess I'll see you around then." Ruby said, pretending to prepare to walk off. She glanced back at Neo, awaiting her response.

Neo found it hard to swallow. She knew she wouldn't last through the cold night on her own. "I...uh..." She said, her mouth becoming dry, "I do need help."

Ruby smiled kindly, "Would you like to come to my house? I know it's weird because we're strangers but maybe I can help you. My father is out of town, but my sister Yang is home, she would welcome you with open arms. I hope you don't mind puns though, Yang is terrible with them."

Neo smirked a bit and nodded her head, looking up at Ruby with hopeful eyes. This random girl was so willing to help her even though she hadn't even know Neo's name. Neo's heart fluttered.

"Let's go then!" Ruby declared, grabbing onto Neo's hand and dragging her along. Neo had no clue where she was going, or much about this girl, but for some unknown reason, she felt like she could trust her.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hey guys, I'll be trying to update the story as much as possible. I'm in school, and participate in multiple clubs so some days I just won't be able to update. I will make sure that you AT LEAST get one update a week. Please feel free to give reviews, I love reading commentary.**

Ruby ended up living quite close to the park, which explained why she had been wondering around at midnight. Right around the corner, sat a small house, painted a light beige. A long winding path lead up to the house.

"I should warn you, Yang is a bit suspicious of strangers, but she's a really good person!" Ruby said, digging in her pocket for keys.

Neo still couldn't believe that she was doing this, but she had no other choice. _"I'll leave in the morning, before anyone wakes us." _she thought.

Ruby flung the door open and took a big gulp of breath, before shouting at the top of her lungs "YANG I'M HOME! I BROUGHT A FRIEND!" she yelled, drawing out the word "friend."

Neo jumped back in surprise as a golden ball flung herself at them, pulling Ruby into a tight hug. "You have a friend! I'm so proud of you, what's her name?" Yang asked excitedly.

Neo studied the girl closely, and noticed how absolutely stunning she was. Long golden hair that cascaded down her back, complimented by violet eyes. She stood confidently, one hand placed on her hip.

"Actually, I just found her. Her name is Neo." Ruby said, scratching behind her head.

"Found? What do you mean found? Do you know this girl?" Yang questioned, eyeing Neo suspiciously

Neo felt frozen under the blondes gaze. She took a small step back.

"I know her name." Ruby said sheepishly. "Yang look at her."

Yang noticed the purple bruise around Neo's eye and the tattered clothes. Her eyes softened, "Hey alright, nice to meet you kiddo, I'm Yang."

Neo nodded her head, "Neo."

"Like the ice cream!" Yang yelled, "Explains a lot, you look like Neapolitan ice cream. Is that your natural hair color or is it dye? Your eyes are cool too. Whoa, did they just change colors? How did you do that?"

Neo felt overwhelmed by the girls questions and I struggled to find words.

"Yang quit bothering her!" Ruby whined, unsuccessfully shoving her big sister.

"Alright alright, so where is she gonna stay for the night?"

"I was hoping she could stay here." Ruby said, putting her arm around Neo's shoulder. Neo flinched at the sudden contact. Ruby frowned, "Or at least until her parents come or something." Neo bit her lip.

"Ruby..." Yang said, "I think we should notify the police, her parents are probably worried sick."

Neo suddenly jumped forward, shaking her head back and forth. "No, you can't!" She cried.

Yang was stunned by the sudden reaction. It didn't take her long to put it all together, though she wasn't sure if Ruby quite understood.

"Alright, you can stay for the night, but we need to go to the police first thing in the morning. We can make a report."

Neo understood what Yang was saying and nodded her head.

"I have some extra clothes you could wear for the night, I also have some ice for your eye." Yang said.

Neo covered her eye with her hand and Ruby nodded, "I'll get the ice. You get the clothes. Wait here Neo."

Neo did as she was told and stood perfectly still as Yang bounded up the stairs and Ruby towards the kitchen. She returned with an ice pack. Neo extended her hand to take it, but instead Ruby leaned forward and put it on her eye for her.

"It's a pretty bad bruise." she said. Ruby's hands began to shake, and tears fell from her eyes. Before Neo could ask what was wrong, Ruby wiped he tears from her eyes and breathed in deeply. "Whoever did this to you is a terrible person."

A lump began to form in the back of Neo's throat. She opened her mouth, but was interrupted by Yang throwing a pile of clothes at her.

"Yang!" Ruby scolded pulling Neo close to her. Neo blushed furiously.

"What? I expected her to catch them! Come on Ruby, don' be so..." Yang smirked and patted Neo on the head, "_cold."_

"Oh my god that was terrible."

"What? That was a great one!" Yang argued, pinching the bridge of her nose. Ruby shook her head, and Neo chuckled slightly, causing Ruby to smile.

"Is your favorite food Ice cream?" Yang asked.

"Yang-."

"Let me guess, Neapolitan is your favorite!"

"Please stop."

"Gee Ruby, it's not a big deal. I'm sure Neo is super _sweet."_

Neo shook her head and watched the two girls bicker as Yang made more terrible puns. She had a feeling they would all grow very close.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hey guys, thanks for the comments, I really appreciate it. Let me know what you guys want to see more of in the story and I'd be happy to oblige. More of Neo's back story, more fluff, more drama. You name it. Let me know what you guys think!**

* * *

Neo entered the room now wearing a large yellow t-shirt, which looked more like a dress, and black shorts underneath.

"Ew, yellow is most definitely not your color." Yang commented.

"I think she looks cute." Ruby disagreed, even though she was chuckling softly. Neo puffed her cheeks.

"It isn't my fault that your sister is a giant brute."

The room got dead silent, and Neo thought she had made a grave mistake. Her face flushed, but then Ruby and Yang burst into uncontrollable laughter. Neo could only blink.

Yang wiped a forming tear from under her eye, trying to catch her breath, "Good one kid. Anyway, we don't have an extra bed, and we can't really let you sleep in Dad's room. We have a sleeping bag though, would that work?"

Neo thought back to the old, stained mattress that laid on the floor at her old house. The luxury of a bed had been taken from her a long time ago. The mattress was covered in dust and blood stains, to her, a sleeping bag sounded lovely.

Neo nodded her head vigorously, and extended her arms for the bag.

"What's the magic word." Yang teased, drawing the word out.

Neo rolled her eyes, "Please."

"You gotta be sweeter than that Ms. Ice Cream." Yang said, sticking out her tongue.

Ruby whacked Yang upside the head and threw the sleeping bag to Neo before being tackled my Yang.

Yang and Ruby pulled at each others hair, while laughing and pushing. It reminded Neo of the way her mother used to play with her. Her eyes filled with tears and she shook the thought away, laying the sleeping bag on the ground and crawling into it. Yang and Ruby both stopped to stare at her, as if she had done some sort of magic. Yang cleared her throat, "Well, I guess we should be heading to bed, it _is_ late."

Ruby then noticed how tired she was. She began yawning and stretching her arms back. "You're right. We should get some sleep. I have a feeling tomorrow is gonna be a long day."

However, Yang and Ruby both waited for the steady sound of Neo's soft breathing, signaling that she was asleep.

"Ruby. This isn't just a girl who was randomly attacked. You've seen the way she flinches. This has been going on for a while." Yang said, brushing through her hair, a frown plastered on her face.

"I know...But who? Her boyfriend? Her parents?" Ruby questioned.

"My best guess is her parents. She nearly had a heart attacked when we mentioned finding them."

Ruby pondered this for a moment, "How could any parent do that to their child?" She began unconsciously running her fingers through Neo's hair.

Yang sighed, putting down the brush. "Not everyone in the world is a good person Rubes."

Neo stirred a bit, before snuggling closer into the warmth of the sleeping bag.

"I could've given her my bed." Ruby said.

"A bit too late for that now don't you think? Just let her rest." Yang laid down and pulled the covers over her body. "You need sleep too."

Ruby bit her lip and nodded. She scooted away from Neo and crawled into the comfort of her own bed, a nagging feeling in the back of her head.

* * *

"_Just who do you think you are, running away from me?!" Neo's father shouted, slamming her against the wall. Her head collided painfully._

"_I..." Neo began, finding it hard to form words._

_Her father began punching her, each blow more painful than the last. His fist collided with her nose, blood spewing everywhere. He threw her to the ground._

"_Don't you ever try to escape from me." He whispered into her ear._

_Neo jumped up, making a mad dash for the door. Her father grabbed her hair and pulled back roughly, bringing her to the ground. He then mounted her, wrapping his hands around her throat._

"_I can't...breathe..." Neo struggled. She began to pound on her fathers chest, but to no avail. Tears streamed down the sides of her face as her vision began to blur._

Neo sat up abruptly, colliding her head with another persons. She held her head in her hands in pain and groaned. She looked up to be met by Ruby, her hands gripping her shoulders.

* * *

"You started to cry." Ruby said.

"What..." Neo asked, obviously confused. She frantically looked around the room, noticing the absence of her father. "_Just a dream..." _she thought.

Then, without a second thought, she buried her face into Ruby's shoulder and began to bawl. All emotions poured out of her, as she clutched onto the girl with great force. Ruby was shocked, to say at the least, and began to rub the multicolored girls back, whispering soothing words. Neo's sobs lightened into soft hiccups, and eventually, silence. Ruby waited a few moments, the silence causing a ring in her ears. She slowly began to lay down, bringing Neo with her, her arms still wrapped tightly. A million questions zoomed through her head in that moment.

Just who was Neo?


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hey guys, I'm so so so sorry for the long update. It's a long story, but I'm happy to say I will be continuing this story, as well as starting a new one soon. I'll try updating as regularly as possible!**

* * *

The morning sun peered through the window of the two girls bedroom. Neo's eyes fluttered open and she yawned, sitting up to stretch. Well, at least she tried to sit up. Neo looked over at the force that was holding her down and noticed the red haired girl holding her. She froze, staring at Ruby's sleeping form. The events from the previous day flooded her memory, and she was taken back to the reality of the situation. Her cheeks flushed a furious red and she squirmed in Ruby's grasp. Ruby groaned and opened her eyes, only to see a flustered Neo staring back at her. Ruby, however, was unfazed, and smiled brightly.

"Good morning," Ruby mumbled, releasing Neo and sitting up. She scratched the back of her head and looked around dazed. Her eyes stop on Yang and she smiled mischievously, picking up her pillow and throwing it at her older sister. "Rise and shine Goldilocks!"

Yang growled and sat up abruptly, "Knock it off!" She said, throwing the pillow back at her sister.

Ruby ducked and the pillow collided with Neo's face. Neo took mental note that Yang was not a morning person. She glared, only receiving a smug Yang in return. _They're so trusting_... Neo thought.

"On a more serious note," Yang said, legs dangling over the side of her bed, "we still need to make a police report Neo."

Neo gave a slow nod, obviously hesitant on going to the police. Ruby placed a hand on her shoulder, "Well, breakfast first!"

"Great, I'm starving. I have eaten since... Well, since I've last eaten."

"That didn't even make sense." Ruby said, eyes squinted at her older sister.

Yang shrugged and climbed out of bed, "Well Neo, you up for something to eat? The ice cream man doesn't come till later though."

Neo furrowed her brows in a look of disapproval at Yang's terrible joke. Yang found it hilarious on the other hand and began laughing while complimenting her cleverness. "Good one Yang, good one..."

"Why must you be so terrible at jokes," Ruby whined. She stood up to stretch, offering a hand to Neo, "Your eye is looking better."

She took Ruby's hand, pulling herself to her feet. She wobbled a bit, dizzy from the sudden movement. Once she steadied herself, she delicately touched her eye. The pain was still evident, though is was subsiding.

"Ruby and I can make breakfast if you wanna clean up a bit and change out of my clothes. I totally get it if you're not into the style."

Neo blushed and nodded, she had almost forgotten how ridiculous she looked in the oversize clothing, almost.

"The bathroom is right next door, to the left. Ruby put your bag in there last night, don't worry though, we didn't go through it."

Yang pulled Ruby along down the stairs, leaving Neo to herself. Neo walked to the bathroom and closed the door behind her, locking it. She let out a shaky breath and covered her face, tears threatening to spill over her eyes. These girls were so nice, it was almost too good to be true. She thought about what life would be like if she could stay with them, joking with them every night, Yang's terrible jokes, having Ruby hold her...

The last thought caused her to snap back into reality. No, we're going to the police station. _They're either going to send me to a foster home or worse, back to Father._ The thought alone was enough to bring goosebumps to her arms. Her father would be furious when he found out she had gone. Has he even noticed yet?

Neo slipped the yellow shirt off, revealing old bruises and scars. She momentarily stared at herself in the mirror. _Ugly, just like Father said._ She reached into her bag to pull out clothes of her own. She was grateful that Yang had offered her own clothes, as Neo had never had any appropriate pajamas. She was always forced to sleep in the same dirty tank top, stained with her own blood and sweat. Neo settled for her usual attire, a plain white T-shirt complimented by her pink hoodie and jeans. Her father had always told her to wear sweaters or hoodies to cover the bruises. She splashed water on her face, hissing at the sting from a few open wounds around her eye. She patted her face dry onto a towel and neatly folded it.

Suddenly, a high pitched beep was heard, followed by continuous ones progressing in volume.

"Yang!" She heard Ruby yell.

Neo darted out of the bathroom and down the stairs, thinking something terrible had happened to Yang.

She turned the corner and stopped, biting her tongue at the scene in front of her.

Yang was running around wildly, waving a towel at the beeping fire alarm. Ruby was filling cups of water and throwing them at the stove in an attempt to stop the small fire that had begun. Neo rushed to open the windows, allowing the smoke to leave the house. Yang was opening every cabinet door, throwing around cups and bowls in an attempt to find a fire extinguisher. When she finally found it, she shot aimlessly, covering the entire kitchen in the cold thick foam... Including her sister.

The beeping had stopped, as did the fire. All Yang and Neo were breathing heavily, Ruby stood stone still, from the neck down, she was covered in the white foam.

"Don't you dare Yang..." Ruby warned

"You..."

"Don't."

"You look like..."

"Yang, so help me, I will kill you.""

Yang suppressed the urge to make a joke and instead turned to look at their clearly frightened guest.

"Breakfast is done!"

* * *

When the trio had finally finished cleaning the mess and explaining to the neighbors that everything was fine, they decided it was a good time to take Neo over to the nearby police station. Neo fiddled with her thumbs nervously as Yang spoke with the men in uniforms. At first, their conversation was casual, then turned serious and Yang began whispering things that Neo was unable to hear.

Ruby noticed Neo's fidgeting. She must be terrified, Ruby thought, smiling sympathetically at the smaller girl. She reached over and places her hand on top of Neo's. Neo tensed for a split second before allowing the contact.

"Hey, everything is going to be okay." Ruby comforted, though, she wasn't quite sure herself.

A powerful voice then rang out, "Ruby Rose, we'd like to speak with you."

Ruby gave Neo's hand a slight reassuring squeeze before following the man back into a room. In the middle sat a small table with only two chairs. The man sat down and motioned for Ruby to sit across from him. He cleared his throat and locked his hands together, studying her face for a second.

"Good afternoon Ruby, my name is Officer Ironwood, I would like to ask you a few questions."

"Alright, sure." Ruby said.

"Now, where was Ms. Politan in when you found her?"

"Um..."

"Neo."

"Oh wow, her name really is just like the ice cream."

"Ms. Rose if we could focus."

"Oh," Ruby said, rubbing the back of her head in an embarrassed matter, "Right, sorry."

"Continue."

"She was in Emerald park."

"And in what state was she in?"

Ruby remembered how terrible Neo had looked when she first found her. Trembling, clothes tattered, bruised and bloodied. Her face got hot and she felt angry tears rising, she choked them down. "Bad."

"I'll need you to describe it for me Ruby."

"She was in the park crying. Her lip was bloody and her eye was swollen shut." She took a deep breath, "She had bruises on her arms and her clothes were ripped. She was beaten up pretty badly."

Ironwood began scribbling onto a sheet of paper, when he finished, he looked up to her to continue.

"I didn't know what to do, I just knew she needed help, so I asked her if she would come home with me."

"You invited a stranger to your home?" Ironwood asked, eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"It wasn't like she was some murderer or something," Ruby defended, "She was already beaten bad enough, she couldn't have done anything in that state anyway. My dad taught me to always help those in need so..."

Ironwood raised his hand, "That's enough Ms. Rose, I understand. I'm glad you took it upon yourselves to bring her here, you made the right choice coming to the police. Did she say anything else while she was with you?"

Ruby relaxed a bit, "No, she had a nightmare, but she didn't speak much. Who do you think did this to her?"

"I'm afraid I couldn't tell you that even if I did know, I haven't had the chance to speak with her yet."

"Oh..." Ruby said, realizing how stupid she must have sounded.

"Don't worry Ruby," Ironwood smiled, "Whoever did this to her, we'll find them."

"Thank you."

"I'll show you the way out, you can wait back in the lobby while I speak with Neo myself." Ironwood stood, leading Ruby out of the room and back into the rather small waiting area. He cleared his throat, "Neo Politan, we'd like to speak with you."


End file.
